The Los Angeles Kings celebrate their third period, game tying goal.
The Kings advanced in overtime, and will advanced to the second round for the first time in a decade.
(Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

"There's always next year" Canucks fans.

Yes, it's the worst day of the year - the day after Vancouver is eliminated from the postseason. For forty odd years, without fail, Canucks fans have mourned the passing of another season on some day in the Spring. We've gnashed our teeth, and hung our heads, and contemplated the grim possibility of slipping our mortal coils without seeing a Canucks captain hoist Lord Stanley's Mug.

Last year, the Canucks lost in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final and expectations were high this year. The Canucks, however, down 3-1 in their preliminary round series, were unable to hold onto a one goal lead and were buried by the Kings over the final twenty-five minutes of play. The result? A longer summer than the Canucks and their fans have gone through since 2008.

Click past the jump for a thorough recap, analysis, scoring chance data and the statistical three stars!

- We'll begin as always with the most important numbers. The Canucks were out-chanced by the Kings 30-21 overall, in game five. At even-strength, the Kings managed 26 scoring chances to the Canucks 16 and with the score-tied, the Kings handled proceedings, recording 15 scoring chances, to the Canucks 6. With their backs against the wall in game five, the Canucks were out-played by an LA Kings team that thoroughly deserved to advance.

- The game was extremely close in the opening twenty-minutes, with the Canucks holding a slight edge in play at five-on-five. The Kings got an early power-play and ran the same set play three times, feeding Drew Doughty on the edge of home-plate for three straight one timers. One was blocked, while the other two were scoring chances. The Kings puck movement eventually set up a scrambly scoring chance in the slot, but Schneider was equal to the task (as he was all evening.)

- The Canucks drew first blood on the power-play when Daniel Sedin sent a beauty saucer pass to his brother Henrik for the a tap-in into the empty net. The Sedins struggled mightily over the games final twenty minutes, but through the first two periods they looked excellent - especially with the man-advantage. The Canucks anemic power-play was a major reason the team found themselves down 3-0 in the series, and while the Kings penalty-killing is good, if games four and five are any indication: a healthy Daniel would've likely given Vancouver the edge in special teams in ths series. I'm still convinced that the Kings edge in possession play and in net would've triumphed, even had Daniel Sedin been available for every game in the series, but the Canucks needed their power-play to click to have any shot against a tough first round opponent. Without him, they were dead in the water.

- It's the last goal the Canucks will score this season, so we might as well watch it again. Remember to curse Duncan Keith's name under your breath as Henrik taps the gimme past Quick!

- In the second period, the Canucks had ample opportunity to build on their one goal lead, recording 14 chances in the frame. From an offensive perspective it was Vancouver's best period of the series, and their inability to beat Jonathan Quick on any of their chances is the reason they're no longer alive in the NHL playoffs. In particular, Quick made lovely saves off of Jannik Hansen on a two-on-one late in the period (Hansen then sent the rebound wide) and on Daniel Sedin on a breakaway with two minutes left in the second period. The Canucks needed to capitalize on one of those chances...

- In the third period, and overtime it was men among boys, as the Kings completely pulverized the Canucks. Over the final 24 and a half minutes, the Kings recorded 16 scoring chances to Vancouver's 4. With the Canucks season on the line - the team blew a total flat. That's a tough pill to swallow.

-Drew Doughty didn't have the best series by the numbers, but what a beauty play he made on Brad Richardson's game tying goal. He made Keith Ballard and Schneider look foolish with his slow developing rush wide, and made a picture perfect back-hander into the crease for the Richardson tap in. Lovely stuff.

- The Canucks top-line was brutal at even-strength last night, especially in the third period. It almost appears to me that Vigneault stopped line-matching, and while that's assuredly not the case, he definitely didn't hard-match against any Kings line. The hardest matchup looks to me to have been between the two fourth-lines and between Kesler and Stoll. The Kings fourth-line bested Vancouver's and Kesler lost his matchup against the Stoll line. Meanwhile Henrik posted a -9 even-strength chance differential, Daniel was -5 and Booth was -6 playing primarily against Kopitar and Richards. Ouch.

- The success of Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis at turning pucks the other way, and controling the game against top-comp was an essential component in Vancouver's run to the finals last season. Throughout this series, they didn't look up to the task. There's some scuttlebutt floating around about Kevin Bieksa playing through a broken foot, which, makes some sense - certainly he didn't have a particularly good series. How oddly painful it is, as well, to have the club's steadiest defenseman make such a bone-headed puckhandling error that directly resulted in Stoll's eliminator tally...

- On the bright side, Samme Pahlsson's checking line had their best game of the series. Also Maxim Lapierre was excellent against all odds. While the team was being out-chanced 4:1 over the final twenty-five minutes, Lapierre somehow managed to be on the ice for three of Vancouver's four chances, and none of Los Angeles'. We're left to wonder why he didn't get a shot: as the teams third line center in this series...

Statistical Three Stars

Jonathan Quick

Cory Schneider

Jordan Nolan

Statistical Three Goats

Henrik Sedin

Kevin Bieksa

Dan Hamhuis

External Resources

Scoring Chance Data

A chance is counted any time a team directs a shot cleanly on-net from within home-plate. Shots on goal and misses are counted, but blocked shots are not (unless the player who blocks the shot is “acting like a goaltender”). Generally speaking, we are more generous with the boundaries of home-plate if there is dangerous puck movement immediately preceding the scoring chance, or if the scoring chance is screened. If you want to get a visual handle on home-plate, check this image.

Scoring Chances for NHL Game Number 30155

Team

Period

Time

Note

VAN

Opponent

LAK

1

19:06

7

8

14

23

28

32

2

3

14

17

27

35

5v5

VAN

1

18:32

7

8

14

23

28

32

2

3

14

17

35

40

5v5

LAK

1

15:20

8

10

11

27

32

77

2

3

27

35

36

5v4

LAK

1

15:06

8

10

11

27

32

77

2

3

27

35

36

5v4

LAK

1

14:40

8

10

11

27

32

77

2

3

27

35

36

5v4

VAN

1

12:02

11

14

23

26

32

33

2

3

7

22

33

35

5v5

VAN

1

5:56

GOAL

2

10

32

33

77

2

17

22

23

33

35

4v5

VAN

1

3:54

2

15

24

32

33

71

2

14

17

23

35

40

5v5

LAK

1

0:01

7

8

11

23

28

32

3

7

22

23

33

35

5v5

VAN

2

19:07

7

8

11

14

23

32

2

3

20

26

35

36

5v5

LAK

2

18:06

15

22

24

26

32

33

2

3

14

17

35

40

5v5

LAK

2

17:56

2

15

24

27

32

71

4

8

21

27

32

35

5v5

LAK

2

17:42

2

15

24

27

32

71

4

8

21

27

32

35

5v5

LAK

2

17:12

7

8

10

32

74

77

4

8

22

32

33

35

5v5

LAK

2

16:07

11

14

23

26

32

33

2

3

7

20

26

35

5v5

VAN

2

15:15

7

8

24

25

32

71

4

8

14

17

35

40

5v5

VAN

2

14:48

2

11

28

32

33

2

17

22

23

33

35

4v5

VAN

2

12:58

10

26

32

33

74

77

4

7

8

21

26

35

5v5

VAN

2

12:45

2

10

28

32

33

2

17

22

23

33

35

4v5

VAN

2

12:30

2

10

28

32

33

2

17

22

23

33

35

4v5

VAN

2

12:16

2

10

28

32

33

2

17

22

23

33

35

4v5

VAN

2

8:45

7

8

11

14

23

32

2

3

7

22

33

35

5v5

LAK

2

8:22

7

8

11

14

23

32

2

3

7

22

33

35

5v5

LAK

2

7:12

2

10

22

27

32

74

4

8

21

27

32

35

5v5

LAK

2

7:11

2

10

22

27

32

74

4

8

21

27

32

35

5v5

LAK

2

4:48

11

14

23

26

32

33

2

3

7

22

33

35

5v5

VAN

2

4:04

11

14

23

26

32

33

2

3

20

26

35

36

5v5

VAN

2

4:03

11

14

23

26

32

33

2

3

20

26

35

36

5v5

VAN

2

2:14

7

8

10

25

32

77

6

7

22

23

33

35

5v5

VAN

2

1:32

7

11

14

23

26

32

2

3

20

26

35

36

5v5

VAN

2

0:31

7

8

10

14

32

74

6

7

17

22

23

35

5v5

LAK

3

18:58

8

10

11

27

32

77

2

3

14

17

35

5v4

LAK

3

16:39

GOAL

7

8

15

24

32

71

4

7

22

23

33

35

5v5

LAK

3

14:30

2

11

14

27

32

74

6

17

21

23

32

35

5v5

LAK

3

12:58

7

8

22

28

32

74

4

8

14

17

35

40

5v5

LAK

3

12:18

2

11

14

23

27

32

2

3

27

33

35

36

5v5

VAN

3

11:47

2

11

14

25

27

32

6

22

23

33

35

36

5v5

LAK

3

10:16

7

8

15

24

32

71

2

3

7

22

33

35

5v5

LAK

3

10:08

7

8

15

24

32

71

2

3

7

22

33

35

5v5

LAK

3

9:47

7

8

28

32

71

74

6

20

23

26

35

36

5v5

VAN

3

4:41

7

8

11

14

23

32

4

8

14

17

35

40

5v5

LAK

3

3:35

22

26

28

32

33

74

2

3

7

22

33

35

5v5

LAK

3

3:33

22

26

28

32

33

74

2

3

7

22

33

35

5v5

VAN

3

3:01

10

22

25

26

32

33

4

8

22

33

35

40

5v5

LAK

3

1:34

10

22

26

32

33

74

6

7

22

23

33

35

5v5

LAK

4

19:37

10

25

26

32

33

77

6

17

21

23

32

35

5v5

VAN

4

18:21

7

8

22

28

32

74

4

8

14

17

21

35

5v5

LAK

4

17:06

8

11

14

25

32

33

2

8

14

22

33

35

5v5

LAK

4

16:58

8

10

14

25

32

33

2

8

14

22

33

35

5v5

LAK

4

16:26

8

11

14

23

32

33

8

14

21

23

33

35

5v5

LAK

4

15:33

GOAL

7

8

22

28

32

74

2

6

21

26

35

36

5v5

Kings Skaters

#

Player

EV

PP

SH

2

M. GREENE

13:32

8

2

0:00

0

0

4:41

0

5

7

R. SCUDERI

20:19

10

9

0:00

0

0

1:58

0

0

8

D. DOUGHTY

20:19

13

8

3:07

4

0

1:56

0

0

10

M. RICHARDS

15:24

6

4

2:51

4

0

3:29

0

4

11

A. KOPITAR

17:20

8

8

3:19

4

0

2:57

0

1

14

J. WILLIAMS

16:10

11

10

3:02

0

0

0:15

0

0

15

B. RICHARDSON

8:03

6

1

0:00

0

0

0:00

0

0

22

T. LEWIS

11:46

8

2

0:07

0

0

1:38

0

0

23

D. BROWN

15:15

7

8

3:02

0

0

1:44

0

0

24

C. FRASER

8:15

6

2

0:00

0

0

0:00

0

0

25

D. PENNER

14:00

3

4

0:07

0

0

0:00

0

0

26

S. VOYNOV

17:53

8

6

2:53

0

0

0:00

0

0

27

A. MARTINEZ

10:20

5

2

2:51

4

0

0:54

0

0

28

J. STOLL

11:48

7

2

2:41

0

0

2:43

0

4

32

J. QUICK

50:47

26

16

6:00

4

0

7:40

0

5

33

W. MITCHELL

19:17

10

6

3:09

0

0

5:51

0

5

71

J. NOLAN

8:09

5

3

0:00

0

0

0:00

0

0

74

D. KING

12:31

10

3

0:00

0

0

0:00

0

0

77

J. CARTER

13:34

1

2

2:51

4

0

2:34

0

1

Canucks Skaters

#

Player

EV

PP

SH

2

D. HAMHUIS

18:10

8

12

4:17

5

0

2:24

0

4

3

K. BIEKSA

18:14

7

12

3:23

0

0

2:38

0

3

4

K. BALLARD

14:04

5

6

0:00

0

0

0:48

0

0

6

S. SALO

16:36

3

6

2:40

0

0

2:48

0

0

7

D. BOOTH

13:56

4

10

2:44

0

0

0:00

0

0

8

C. TANEV

15:28

5

9

0:00

0

0

0:34

0

0

14

A. BURROWS

15:02

5

6

2:22

0

0

1:30

0

1

17

R. KESLER

16:09

5

5

5:09

5

0

1:58

0

1

20

C. HIGGINS

11:00

4

2

1:41

0

0

1:34

0

0

21

M. RAYMOND

8:42

2

8

0:00

0

0

0:00

0

0

22

D. SEDIN

15:45

6

11

4:56

5

0

0:00

0

0

23

A. EDLER

19:14

4

7

5:00

5

0

2:48

0

0

26

S. PAHLSSON

13:46

5

3

0:00

0

4

1:50

0

0

27

M. MALHOTRA

6:41

0

5

0:00

0

0

2:34

0

4

32

D. WEISE

6:37

0

7

0:00

0

0

0:00

0

0

33

H. SEDIN

17:51

5

14

5:46

5

0

0:00

0

0

35

C. SCHNEIDER

50:43

16

26

7:40

5

0

6:00

0

4

36

J. HANSEN

13:02

4

3

0:22

0

0

2:34

0

3

40

M. LAPIERRE

13:42

5

2

0:00

0

4

0:00

0

0

Chance Totals (Canucks on the left, Kings on the right).

Period

Totals

EV

PP

5v3 PP

SH

5v3 SH

1

4

5

3

2

1

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

13

8

9

9

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

3

11

3

10

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

1

5

1

5

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Totals

21

30

16

26

5

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

Thomas Drance lives in Toronto, eats spicy food and writes about hockey. He is the editor in chief of the Nation Network (a.k.a Overlord), and an opinionated blowhard to boot. You can follow him on twitter @thomasdrance.

"•In Vancouver's last ten playoff games they've gone 2-8 and been outscored 29-12." What needs to change? Multi-million dollar contracts apparently cannot buy a heightened intensity and desire level this year. As great as they were last year, the 3-0 shutout at home in game 7 still haunts them.

"•In Vancouver's last ten playoff games they've gone 2-8 and been outscored 29-12." What needs to change? Multi-million dollar contracts apparently cannot buy a heightened intensity and desire level this year. As great as they were last year, the 3-0 shutout at home in game 7 still haunts them.

I think it was 4-0 in game 7. And what do you mean haunts them? The fact that they had trouble winning at home?

What can we say? after being up 2-0 in the cup finals, the team is 2-8 in playoff games. The third period was tough to watch, and it is hard to imagine them winning game 6 in LA even had they pulled it out last night. The tieing goal was brutal - 3 Canucks and a King in front of the net and the King player wins the battle. OT goal, there was no support from forwards - no clear pass for Hamhuis to make.

Questions to ponder for off season (aside from goalies, and coach)
- Kesler - did he rush back from surgery too soon? can her return to form, or was 2011 an aberation?
- Edler - was too much expected too soon? Will he be able to regain confidence after long summer?
- Kassian - Can he develope into a top 6 forward? will he need a half season in minors to develop?
- Burrows was not much of a factor. Does he move back to the top line, or does he migrate to being strong third line player?
- plus numerous questions about contracts, etc. (Keep Lappierre - when he keeps his mouth shut he is a good player)

The confidence and swagger they rightfully earned last year imploded in game 7 last year. Fell on their own sword. Shutout, at home, with the Cup on the line? This group looked tentative and fragile emotionally from game 1 this year. Game 7 from last year still haunts them.

You could argue that it imploded a lot earlier in the cup final, say game 3 when Edler's stick broke on the opening play of second period. Edler of all the players represents the sense of fragility as he was clearly the player who made the most mistakes - he was on for the tieing goal last night (on top of turnovers leading to LA goals in games one and two, leaving Brown open in game 3, plus delay of game penalty at end of game). One hears talk of him being an elite defenseman - I wonder if the Swedish press see him as the next Lidstrom? Perhaps too much expectation on his shoulders - can he grow into it?

Under the green bar of "Van," aren't those the numbers of the Kings players on the ice? Eg. for the first chance that'd be Scuderi, Doughty, Brown, Stoll, and Quick on for the Kings; Bieksa, Hamhuis, Burrows, Kesler, etc. under "opponents."

I know the scripts get wonky sometimes. Thanks for putting in all the hard work to track the chances.

What can we say? after being up 2-0 in the cup finals, the team is 2-8 in playoff games. The third period was tough to watch, and it is hard to imagine them winning game 6 in LA even had they pulled it out last night. The tieing goal was brutal - 3 Canucks and a King in front of the net and the King player wins the battle. OT goal, there was no support from forwards - no clear pass for Hamhuis to make.

Questions to ponder for off season (aside from goalies, and coach)
- Kesler - did he rush back from surgery too soon? can her return to form, or was 2011 an aberation?
- Edler - was too much expected too soon? Will he be able to regain confidence after long summer?
- Kassian - Can he develope into a top 6 forward? will he need a half season in minors to develop?
- Burrows was not much of a factor. Does he move back to the top line, or does he migrate to being strong third line player?
- plus numerous questions about contracts, etc. (Keep Lappierre - when he keeps his mouth shut he is a good player)

Thanks to Thomas and friends for hosting this blogging site.

You ask if 2011 was a blip for Kesler and if he can return to form. I'd say the real question is if 2010 was a blip, and this is the real Kesler. I'd suggest the latter is more likely.